1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a library apparatus of storage media, in which a magazine housing a plurality of cartridges, each receiving a storage medium, is loaded, and a desired one of the storage media received within the magazine is accessed for reading information from the storage medium, writing information in the storage medium, and performing both of reading and writing information. More particularly, the invention relates to an improvement in a loading mechanism for loading and ejecting the magazine.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known a library apparatus, in which the magazine housing therein a plurality of cartridges, each of which receives therein a storage medium, is loaded, a storage medium in a desired cartridge is accessed to be taken out for loading to a medium drive device for performing reading and/or writing information from and in the medium. Among this kind of library apparatus, as a loading mechanism for loading and unloading a magazine employing a digital audio disk (DAD), such as a compact disk or the like, as the storage medium, has been disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. Heisei 9-245410, for xe2x80x9cMagazine Loading Type Disk Drivexe2x80x9d, Japanese Patent No. 2568065, for xe2x80x9cMulti-Disk Playerxe2x80x9d.
The loading mechanisms for loading and unloading the magazines as disclosed in the above-identified publications are designed for performing loading and unloading utilizing a driving force of a motor in view of that a conventionally employed structure for manually loading and unloading the magazine utilizing a biasing means, such as a spring or the like, can cause unstability in loading and unloading operation of the magazine.
General construction of the magazine loading mechanism utilizing the driving force of the motor, as set for above, is illustrated in FIG. 36. In a magazine 2 to be provided for a library apparatus 1 houses three cartridges 3, each of which receives therein a storage medium. On the lower portion of the external side surface of a casing of the magazine 2, a rack 2a are provided. On the other hand, in the front side portion of the library apparatus 1, the cartridge transporting mechanism which can be lifted up and down, is arranged. On a lower portion in the rear side, a medium driving device 5 for performing reading from and writing in the storage medium housed in the cartridge, is arranged. In the upper side of the medium driving device 5, a holder device 6 for receiving the loaded magazine 2, is arranged. The magazine 2 is inserted into the holder device 6 through an opening formed in the front side. On the side edge of the opening, a magazine feeding motor 7 is provided. On an output shaft of the magazine feeding motor, a pinion 8 for meshing with the rack 2a of the magazine is secured. On the front surface of the housing of the library apparatus 1, a lid body 1a which swings about one edge thereof for opening and closing an opening formed therein.
Upon loading the magazine in the library apparatus, by pushing the lid body 1a with the magazine 2, the lid body 1a is opened in response to pushing force exerted through the magazine 2 for permitting insertion of the magazine 2. At this time, the cartridge transporting mechanism 3 is located at a lowered position. The magazine 2 is moved as guided by an upper surface of the cartridge transporting mechanism 3. When the magazine is pushed to locate the rack 2a providing on the casing of the magazine 2 to mesh with the pinion 2a, the position of the magazine 2 is detected by a not shown sensor. By a detection signal of the sensor, the magazine feeding motor 7 is actuated to drive the pinion for rotation. By rotation of the pinion, the rack 2a is driven to move for drawing the magazine 2 into the holder device 6. When the magazine 2 is inserted to a predetermined position within the holder device 6, the magazine at the predetermined position is detected by a not shown sensor. In response to the detection signal of the sensor, the magazine feeding motor 7 is stopped to place the magazine in a condition loaded in the library device.
In the condition where the magazine 2 is loaded, the storage media housed in the cartridges received within the magazine can be loaded on the medium driving device 5. Upon loading the storage medium on the medium driving device 5, the cartridge transporting mechanism 4 is elevated up to the position opposing to the desired cartridge 3. Then, by means of a not shown gripping means provided in the cartridge transporting mechanism 4, the cartridge 3 is gripped and is withdrawn from the magazine 2 by inserting and withdrawing mechanism which is designed to move the gripping means in horizontal direction, Then, the cartridge 3 is held on the cartridge transporting mechanism 4. Thereafter, the cartridge transporting mechanism 4 is lowered to oppose to the medium driving device 5. Then, the held cartridge is pushed out to insert into the medium driving device 5. Thus, reading and writing from and in the storage medium housed in the cartridge 3 can bed performed. For exchanging the storage medium, the cartridge 3 is withdrawn from the medium driving device 5 by the cartridge transporting mechanism 4 to return into the magazine 2, and then, another cartridge 3 is withdrawn from the magazine and insert into the medium driving device 5.
However, in the conventional library device, a lifting motor for driving the cartridge transporting mechanism 4 for lifting up and down, a inserting and withdrawing motor for driving the gripping means in horizontal direction for moving the cartridge 3 and so forth are incorporated in addition to the magazine feeding motor 7. Namely, since at least three motors are employed, a large number of parts are required and construction becomes complicate. Also, since at least three motors are provided, installation spaces therefore are required to increase the size of the library apparatus.
On the other hand, since the pinion 8 has to be arranged at the position out of the range of up and down motion of the cartridge transporting mechanism 4, the pinion 9 is arranged in the vicinity of the holder device 6. On the other hand, when the magazine 2 is ejected from the library apparatus 1, the magazine 2 has to be projected from the lid body 1a of the library apparatus 1 in the extent of permitting gripping by human finger. Furthermore, at this projected position, the tip end of the rack 2a has to be kept in meshing engagement with the pinion 8. Therefore, a length of the magazine in the loading direction has to correspond to a sum of a length of the cartridge transporting mechanism 4 and a length to project from the library apparatus 1. Therefore, the magazine 2 is required to have approximately double of a length of the cartridge 3 to make the magazine bulky.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a library apparatus which can reduce number of motors to be incorporated and whereby to reduce number of parts for simplification of construction, contributing to down-sizing of the apparatus and reducing a cost.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a library apparatus of a storage media for reading and/or writing information from and in a storage medium housed in a cartridge by withdrawing a desired one of a plurality of cartridges housed within a magazine which is loaded in an apparatus body, by cartridge loading and unloading means and loading the withdrawn cartridge in medium drive means, comprises:
the cartridge loading, and unloading means performs loading and unloading of the magazine to the apparatus body.
Namely, by the cartridge loading and unloading means performing loading and unloading the cartridge from the magazine, loading and unloading of the magazine is also performed. Therefore, dedicated motor for loading the magazine is unnecessary to provide. Therefore, number of parts can be reduced and construction can be simplified.
In the preferred construction, a magazine holder for receiving the magazine is provided within the apparatus body, and the cartridge loading and unloading means transports the magazine inserted through a magazine insertion opening of the apparatus body to the magazine holder, and then grips and withdraws a desired one of cartridges from the loaded magazine.
The cartridge loading and unloading means may transport the magazine inserted through the magazine insertion opening by repeating operation for a plurality of times.
Since the magazine houses the cartridges, the size of the magazine is greater than the size of the cartridges. The stroke of loading and unloading operation by the cartridge loading and unloading means is required to be sufficiently large for loading and unloading the cartridge, which is not sufficient for loading and unloading the magazine in and from the library apparatus. In such case, the magazine inserted through the magazine insertion opening of the apparatus body can be transported to the magazine holder by repeating operation for a plurality of times.
The cartridge loading and unloading means may be mounted on cartridge moving means which is moved up and down with mounting the cartridge loading and unloading means. The cartridge loading and unloading means may be provided with latching portion and the magazine is provided with a latch receiving portion for releasably engaging with the latching portion, and the latching portion and the latch receiving portion may be engaged and released by up and down motion of the cartridge loading and unloading means by the cartridge moving means.
One cartridge withdrawn from the magazine by the cartridge loading and unloading means is moved to the media drive means by the cartridge moving means as supported by the cartridge loading and unloading means. Also, when one cartridge is moved to the medium drive means by the cartridge moving means after withdrawing one cartridge form the magazine by the cartridge loading and unloading means, the magazine is separated from the cartridge loading and unloading means.
The library apparatus may further comprise magazine positioning means for positioning the magazine inserted through the magazine insertion opening at a predetermined position located away from the magazine holder, and the cartridge loading and unloading means may transport the magazine from the predetermined position to the magazine holder. The magazine positioning means may be provided on a lid body closing the magazine insertion opening and may be responsive to pushing of the magazine through the magazine insertion opening to be placed at open position, the magazine positioning means may engage with the magazine in the condition where the lid body is opened, to position the magazine at the predetermined position, the magazine positioning means may release engagement with the magazine as shifted by driving means, the cartridge loading and unloading means may transport the magazine into the magazine holder after releasing the magazine positioning means from the magazine.
By this, unless the magazine is not positioned at the predetermined position, it cannot be loaded. Therefore, loading operation can be performed certainly.